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 Understand what the more advanced players tell you!
I posted this in my operation thread, but I thought that this could definitely help out some guys here.
I feel like it is important that I understand and know the fundamentals of poker before going out in the field: This is a very big point which i think a lot of the newer players to poker (I still am one of them) do not understand. IMHO the quickest way to becoming better at poker is not to watch videos, or to read forums and books, or to spend hours playing trying to unmask the "correct formula". I think the quickest way to get better at poker is to do any of these activities but actually understand why the "pro" is advising you to do this stuff. If you don't understand why they tell you this, then you will receive several different pieces of advice and not know which is right for the right situation.
How many times have you heard the "pros" say "loosen up at a tight table, and tighten up at a loose table", now as a novice/beginner I could immediately go out and do this but I wouldn't be seeing any real benefits until I actually understand why this concept holds true. In the above example, this statement does not hold true everytime, in fact at the micros in 6-max I could make a case for the opposite being true simply because there are so many weak/loose fish at these levels. The ideology behind the statement "loosen up at a tight table and tighten up at a loose table" will only be true if none of your opponents are actually weak. If somebody is a loose/passive/weak fish then play as many hands as you can against him and you will likely outplay him postflop and win several hands. If somebody is a nit, then take several jabs at him and take those small pots, but as soon as he starts showing strength backdown, even if you hold TPTK.
To put it in more simple terms, I'll give an example... or rather a kind of metaphor of what i mean when I say "actually understand what the pros are telling you".
There is a blind man, now this blind man needs to travel accross a forest in order to get back home and see his family. But as he is blind he cannot. The blind man is actually a reference to a fish, he has no idea what to do or where to go.
Now let's say that all of a sudden, some person passes the blind man and whilst passing he helps this blind man by giving him directions. The blind man now has an idea of where to go. Now the blind man has some goals, he has started on his journey, this could be seen as a fish finally starting to get some help, however he still only knows which direction to go, he has no idea whether he should duck to avoid some tree branches or jump over a pond just like the fish has no idea what to do when he is 3bet and he holds 99.
Now let's say all of a sudden, that the blind man gets stuck and shouts for help. Low and behold, another person comes to his rescue, and this time the person actually navigates him through the forest and promises to come along with him until the blind man gets home. This could be seen as the stage where people actually come to forums and start reading the articles that people write. They will hear stuff like, fold ATo from UTG and they will do this but will not realize why, but still they are still making the correct decision but do not understand why. They are now finally a breakeven or marginal winning player because they are following advice... However I also think this is one of the most frustrating stages, because you know you are much better than many of the fish, yet you don't seem to be making much more money than them
Suddenly though, the blind man and his helper come to a gigantic cliff which they have to climb, the blind man is unable to climb it because he needs to be able to see where to step with his own eyes. The blind man prays and all of a sudden a fairy comes down and grants him the power to see. The blind man is no longer blind and he doesn't need the help of the other man anymore. He now goes off on his journey all by himself because he can now see where he is going. This is the stage where one actually understands why they are doing what they are doing. For a poker player, this is the stage where one will look at anybody's words critically and have their own opinions even if it differs from the perspective of the pros. It is the stage where one understands why someone says "loosen up OTB", he will now loosen up OTB but only when he thinks it is a good situation to do so, because there are exceptions to every rule (for example, you should tighten your openning range OTB if you have a bully on the left because he is more likely to defend lightly and will give you a harder time than the nit which is also one of the reasons why having a bully on your left is very bad.)
I myself have just gotten to this stage and now I look at all my decisions and ask myself, why did I do this. I think the best poker players out there, can be asked about any of their decisions they made in any single hand and they will have a concrete reason for why they made their decision in that particular hand. When you see a video and you see the pros doing what they do, don't just go out and copy it. Actually try and understand what they are doing and why they are doing it in this situation, and don't be afraid to criticize their plays, being a clone of every other player might make you a marginal winner... but the best players are the players who have their own minds and opinions. The best players are the ones who get creative and use unusual lines to completely confuse the villain. (this does not mean that you should start playing fancy just for the heck of it)
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